In 1969, Demetrio Rodríguez and the Edgewood Concerned Parents Association filed suit against the San Antonio Independent School District (ISD), Edgewood ISD and five other districts. This group of parents took exception to the low quality of education afforded their children because they resided in poor and predominantly Mexican American neighborhoods in San Antonio.
Outcome – It was discovered that the main cause of the low quality education was the lack of an adequate tax base per pupil coupled with the state’s failure to offset differences in taxable property wealth among Texas public school districts. “Even though the Edgewood residents taxed themselves at a much higher tax rate than most areas of San Antonio, no money per pupil came forth, nor could it come forth” (Cárdenas, 1997). In December 1971, a Texas court found the Texas school finance system unconstitutional by implication and precedence. This ruling met with direct conflict from legislators and wealthy school districts and was overturned. The Rodríguez plaintiffs ultimately lost in the United States Supreme Court in 1973.
Cárdenas, J.A. Texas School Finance Reform: An IDRA Perspective (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association, 1997). http://www.idra.org/publications/
